Chronology of Pakistan
April 2004 (Continued II)
Heated Senate debate over NSC
April 13: Political rivals crossed swords in the Senate over the intent of the government's National Security Council (NSC) Bill at the start of a debate on the key law that is sure to get an easy passage from the upper house.
N-plan not financed by Muslim states: Benazir
April 13: Pakistan's nuclear bomb never had an Islamic character, says the country's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto whose father first coined the term, 'Islamic bomb'. "As far as I recall he did not call it an Islamic bomb when he launched the nuclear program in 1974," said Ms Bhutto in a letter to a US news agency, United Press International. He called it an Islamic bomb some time in 1978 or 1979 from the death cell. It was here that he wrote for the first time that the Christian, Jewish and Hindu civilizations had a nuclear bomb and that he had made one for the Islamic world," she writes.
Dr Khan's information exposed N. Korea: US
April 13: The United States said that the information it had received from scientist Dr A.Q. Khan had enabled it to expose North Korea's claims that it did not have a nuclear weapons program. The spokesman, however, said he could not comment on a report published in the New York Times that Dr Khan had visited an underground nuclear weapons site in North Korea.
Qadeer saw three bombs in N. Korea N-plant, says NYT
April 13: Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan has told interrogators he was shown three nuclear devices at a secret underground nuclear plant when he visited North Korea five years ago , The New York Times. Although US officials were unclear about Dr Khan's ability to discern a real nuclear device from a mock-up, his account, if true, would roughly match previous US Central Intelligence Agency estimates of North Korea's nuclear capabilities, the paper said.
Lawyers term conviction political victimization: Javed Hashmi case
QUETTA, April 13: The Balochistan High Court Bar Association adopted a resolution, condemning PML-N leader Makhdoom Javed Hashmi's conviction besides calling for making the letter, on whose basis the court had handed him the punishment, public to expose the nefarious designs of the government.
PML-N launches protest campaign; 40 arrested
April 13: The PML-N launched a 10-day protest campaign against the conviction of its acting president Javed Hashmi, claiming that over 40 party workers had been arrested and houses of another 20 male and 14 female activists raided by the police in Lahore. The Sindh provincial chapter of the Pakistan Muslim League-N staged a protest rally outside the Karachi Press Club against the sentence of acting party president Makhdoom Javed Hashmi.
MMA leaders, activists booked over Wana rally
April 13: Rawalpindi police have registered cases at two police stations against 2,000 leaders, parliamentarians and activists of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal including Amir Jamaat-e-Islami and acting chief of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) Qazi Hussain Ahmad under section 16 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) for taking out a rally and criticizing government policies on the Wana operation, police said. MMA staged a protest rally led by Qazi Hussain Ahmad on March 26 in Rawalpindi to express opposition to the Wana operation launched by the army to eliminate foreign terrorists, police said, adding, the key leaders of all the religious parties allied with the MMA participated in the protest demonstration.
Senate passes NSC bill within three minutes
April 14: The Senate passed the National Security Council bill within three minutes in the absence of opposition members. The opposition staged a walkout to protest against not giving them due representation in the standing committees of the Senate. In the absence of the opposition the treasury benches gave approval of the NSC bill without even winding up the debate. The opposition parties later condemned the hasty passage of an important legislation in their absence as "the worst incident in Pakistan's parliament" and a "crime" and said they would reconsider government-opposition relationship in the upper house. The bill, which creates a 13-member National Security Council to give the military a permanent legal role in the country's governance, was hurriedly passed by the National Assembly a week ago amid an opposition walkout and now needs only a presidential assent to become law, or act of parliament.
27 Senate committees elected amid protests
April 14: The ruling coalition in the Senate elected 27 house committees, ignoring protest by the opposition, which said it had got less than its due share in the membership. The opposition boycotted the voice vote for 21 standing committees and three functional committees of 12 members each, an eight-member committee on the rules of procedure and privileges, a six-member house committee and a 13-member finance committee.
Adjournment motion on Dr Khan's pardon rejected
April 14: Senate Chairman Mohammedmian Soomro ruled the adjournment motion, concerning the conditional pardon granted to nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, out of order. The adjournment motion was jointly moved by parliamentary leaders of the PPP and PML-N, Senators Raza Rabbani and Ishaq Dar. Senator Raza Rabbani said the motion pertained to a 'blatant' and 'open interference' by America in the internal matters of Pakistan to which the latter was succumbing.
‘Pak revelations on N Korean nukes unclear’
April 14: Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon confirmed that South Korea had received information from Pakistan concerning North Korea’s nuclear weapons capabilities but the contents were unclear. Ban’s remarks followed a US news report that Pakistan had told the United States and Asian allies that Pakistani nuclear Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan had been shown three nuclear devices at a secret underground nuclear plant in North Korea.
Benazir says she sanctioned Korean missile purchase
April 14: Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, a letter to United Press International, said that in 1994 she had sanctioned the purchase of ballistic missile technology from North Korea. But she said during her second term - 1994 to 1996 - she also declined to approve another budget proposal to locally develop a long-range missile technology.
US regrets Hashmi's conviction
April 14: The United States has issued a rare warning to its key ally in Pakistan, President Pervez Musharraf, for the sentencing of opposition politician. Javed Hashmi who was convicted on a sedition charge. The US State Department regretted "the closed nature" of proceedings against Mr Hashmi and urged Pakistani authorities to handle his case in a fair and transparent manner. The reaction, displayed on the US government's website on Wednesday with a headline: "US calls for judicial fairness for Pakistan opposition figure."
EU-Pakistan pact endorsed
April 14: The European Parliament's influential foreign affairs committee approved a new European Union agreement with Pakistan after what parliamentary sources described as a heated and often acrimonious debate on the country's human rights record and political situation. The agreement was approved after 15 members of the committee voted in favor of parliamentary endorsement of the EU-Pakistan accord while 14 members voted against.
Bush acknowledges Pakistan's support
April 14: President George Bush has acknowledged that it would have been "awfully hard" to fight the Al Qaeda network in Afghanistan without Pakistan's support. Responding to a question at his news conference, Mr Bush said the terrorists have lost safe havens in Pakistan.
Farmers freed from private jail appear in court
April 14: Ranipur police produced the 33 farmers in the court of District and Sessions Judge Khairpur. The farmers stated before the judge that local Zamindar Abdul Fatah Bhugio had made them hostage for the last three years and was getting forced labour from them. They stated that the Judicial Magistrate at Ranipur conducted a raid last night and got them released. According to details of the case, Zamindar Abdul Fatah Bhugio also produced proof before the court that the villagers were his borrowers and had not paid the money they had taken from him. The judge rejected his plea.
Joint tribal operation against al-Qaeda suspects
April 14: After talks between the political administration of South Waziristan and grand tribal Jirga, the Utmankhel, Yargulkhel and Kakakhel clans of Zalikhel Wazir agreed on joint operation against foreign terrorists and the locals, who sheltered them.
US refuses to stop negative advisories
April 15: The US government has refused to stop issuing negative travel advisories for its citizens unless Pakistan improves the law and order situation and removes political instability in the country. Informed sources told Dawn that the Bush administration had also asked the government to effectively enforce the intellectual property rights before expecting a sizable American investment in Pakistan.
Rockets fired at police post
April 15: Three rockets were fired in Peshawar, one of them hitting the offices of the Crimes Investigation Department. A policeman on duty received shrapnel injuries. A senior police official told Dawn that the Russian-made 107mm rockets had been fired from a vegetable pushcart parked barely 150 metres away from the former CID headquarters, now used as a CID post. The two other rockets flew over the top and landed in Garhi Ata Muhammad on Kohat Road, without causing any damage.
Conviction of Javed Hashmi criticized
April 15: April 13, 2004, will be remembered as a black day in the political history of Pakistan for it was on this day that PML-N leader Javed Hashmi was sentenced to 23-year imprisonment in a sedition case. This was said by Mohammad Afzal Gujjar, provincial president, labour wing of the Pakistan Muslim League (N), former MNA Sahibzada Shabbir Ansari and other party leaders at a news conference at the press club in Hyerabad.
67 deportees arrive from US
April 15: A batch of 67 illegal Pakistani immigrants, deported from the United States, arrived at Islamabad International Airport. A chartered flight carrying the 67 Pakistani deportees arrived from Buffalo, New York. The deportees were taken into custody by the FIA immigration authorities. They were later allowed to go by the immigration authorities after their statements were recorded.
More troops sent to Wana as elders try to avert fight
April 15: The Pakistani army sent more troops to prepare for a fresh push against hundreds of militants, as tribesmen made last ditch efforts to avoid more bloodshed.
Two cops injured in Peshawar rocket attack
PESHAWAR: Unidentified terrorists fired three Russian-made rockets at different places in Peshawar sending alarm bells ringing at the security agencies. One of the rockets injured two constables and damaged the CID police building while two others exploded in Qamardin Garhi, a suburban village of the provincial capital, without causing any damage or injuries.
Pakistan clearly on right course: IMF
April 15: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it was optimistic that strong growth in Pakistan will continue and reduce poverty. "Pakistan is clearly on the right course," said an IMF statement, adding, "though significant gains in the fight against poverty are not yet visible."
US hails Pak trade liberalization
April 15: The United States Trade Representative (USTR) annual report appreciates progressive trade liberalization in Pakistan. The office of the USTR has recently released its annual report 2004 documenting foreign trade barriers to US exports. The report covers fifty-eight countries in all and it recognizes progressive trade liberalization in Pakistan, improvement in government procurement, fair use of sanitary, photo-sanitary and environmental standards, progress in liberalizing services sector (banking, insurance and telecommunications) and improved investment policy.
Hashmi's trial: US criticism rejected
April 16: Mind your own business. This was the loud and clear message Pakistan conveyed to the United States when it strongly rejected the US State Department's statement and a subsequent demarche by the US Embassy on the trial of opposition leader Javed Hashmi, calling it an unwarranted interference in the country's internal affairs. In a hard-hitting statement, Foreign Office Spokesman Masood Khan said: "We hope that the US will desist from issuing statements on the internal matters and the judicial process of Pakistan."
Militants refuse to lay down arms
April 16: People in the Azam Warsak area in South Waziristan began moving to safe locations as the five most wanted militants turned down an offer to lay down arms and surrender to the government.
China, Japan briefed on N-probe findings
April 16: Pakistan has shared relevant information on the illicit nuclear proliferation with its concerned Asian allies including China, Japan and South Korea, Dawn reported.
Militant wanted in Daniel Pearl murder case arrested
April 16: In Lahore, the Special Intelligence Unit of Punjab arrested Malik Tasadduq alias Shahid of the outlawed Lashkar-i-Jhangvi who was wanted by the Sindh police in the US reporter Daniel Pearl murder case.
Apology calms down uproar over NSC bill in Senate
April 16: An unusual government apology for rushing through the National Security Council bill and behind-the-scene efforts calmed down an opposition uproar in the Senate before President Pervez Musharraf prorogued the upper house after an eight-day session.
'Some members can return by end-2005': Govt-Sharif family deal
April 16: Some members of the Sharif family, which had left the country in December 2000 for Saudi Arabia after allegedly striking a deal with the military government, would be able to return to Pakistan in December 2005, Dawn said. Sources said that under the agreement some members of the family might be able to return to the country after passing five years abroad. The exile period of 10 years applied to former prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif but not to the whole of the family, they said.
Hudood laws termed discriminatory
April 16: A meeting of the Women Action Forum (WAF) in Karachi urged the government to repeal the Hudood laws, saying these were discriminatory towards various sections of the society, particularly, the women.
Pandemonium mars Senate proceedings
April 16: Pandemonium and rumpus marred the Senate proceedings as the opposition registered a strong protest against the passage of National Security Council Bill and attitude of the treasury benches and Senate chairman. The opposition members were of the view that the treasury benches bulldozed the NSC bill while bypassing all parliamentary norms and procedures but the treasury benches insisted that they followed rules and procedures for the passage of the bill.
SCBA terms NSC unconstitutional
April 16: The Supreme Court Bar Association termed the establishment of the National Security Council unconstitutional and contrary to the apex court’s ruling in Syed Zafar Ali Shah and Mehmood Khan Achakzai cases. Talking to reporters, Vice-President, SCBA, Muhammad Ikram Chaudhry said the NSC was contrary to the Constitution of 1973.
Putting back uniform in protest
April 16: Miangul Aurangzeb, former governor of Balochistan, has decided to put on his army uniform after several decades of retirement in protest over controversy about President Pervez Musharraf’s uniform. "Yes, from now on I will be seen in my captain’s uniform, a post from which I retired several decades ago," Aurangzeb, also a former MP, told The News. "The reason I am doing this is because President Pervez Musharraf is undecided about taking off his uniform, which he promised millions of Pakistanis in a televised address that he would do so at the end of this year."
NSC will work under parliament: President
April 17: President Gen Pervez Musharraf said that the National Security Council was a consultative body which would work under parliament and help strengthen democracy in the country. Speaking to senators and MNAs in Lahore, he said the past experience showed that the absence of such a forum had led to instability.
'US balancing relations with Pakistan, India'
April 17: The US decision to announce granting of non-NATO status to Pakistan without informing India was intended to convey a message to both the nations that Washington wants to deal with them individually, diplomatic observers in Washington told Dawn. The message was further augmented this week by US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld who refused to assess the Pentagon's ties with India and Pakistan other than that relations with both the neighbors had improved.
Wanted men agree to live peacefully: Zalikhels insist on surrender
April 17: In a dramatic development, the five most wanted men in the volatile South Waziristan tribal region offered to live peacefully under tribal guarantees. An official source told Dawn that five tribesmen wanted for sheltering and facilitating foreign militants had conveyed to the government their willingness to live peacefully under guarantees from their Zalikhel tribe.
ANP wants Pukhtun areas' unification
April 17: The Awami National Party has been struggling to unite the divided Pukhtun areas into a single administrative set up as it never recognized the division of the Pukhtun ethnic entity, says Awami National Party chief Senator Asfandyar Wali Khan. He made these remarks while speaking at public meetings in Chaman, Piralizai, and Gulistan Nurak the other day. The nationalist leader said that Pakistan would be strengthened if rulers the country was run in accordance with the spirit of federal parliamentary democratic system.
Musharraf not becoming field marshal: Rashid
April 18: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sheikh Rashid Ahmed strongly rebutted speculations about President Pervez Musharraf becoming field marshal in order to retain his army uniform while holding the office of president.
ARD opposes plans to establish new cantonments
April 18: The Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy demanded that a resolution passed by the Balochistan Assembly against establishing new cantonments in the province should be respected. Speaking at a press briefing after a meeting of the ARD in Quetta, Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) Vice-President Tehmina Daultana said the alliance discussed the stand of the Jamhoori Watan Party and other parties regarding the Gwadar port project and demanded that the local people should be its main beneficiaries.
Pakistan should do more: Khalilzad
April 18: The US Ambassador to Afghanistan, Mr Zalmay Khalilzad, said in Kabul that remnants of Al Qaeda and Taliban and members of Gulbudin Hekmatyar's Hizbe Islami were still in Pakistan and were involved in cross-border activities. He said he hoped Pakistan would do more to deal with them.
Asghar opposes army role in politics
April 18: Opposing any constitutional role for the armed forces in national politics, the Qaumi Jamhoori Party (QJP) has demanded an immediate end to the army rule in the country. Speaking at a press conference after a meeting of party's National Council in Lahore, QJP president Asghar Khan said the army government had failed to deliver on the promises it had made with the masses while taking over reigns of the country on Oct 12, 1999.
Target killings this year claim 23 lives so far in Karachi
April 18: Karachi has witnessed target killings of 23 people who include MPA Abdullah Murad, PPP (Shaheed Bhutto) leader Ali Mohammad Sonara and six members of law-enforcement agencies since the beginning of this year, Dawn reported. During January-March period, two bomb blasts have also claimed one life and left 18 people, including another six members of law-enforcement agencies, injured.
Pakistan condemns Rantissi's killing
April 18: Pakistan condemned the killing of the top Hamas leader Abdel Aziz al Rantissi by Israel a day earlier, calling it a violation of international law. Pakistan has urged the international community to step in to stem this cycle of violence. A statement issued by Foreign Office Spokesman Masood Khan said: "Pakistan condemns the killing. Such arbitrary and extra-judicial killings contravene international law and are a bane of the efforts aimed at fostering peace and security in the Middle East, with the ultimate objective of creating a viable, independent and sovereign Palestinian state."
Border security discussed with China
April 18: High-ranking officials of China and the Northern Areas administration discussed security situation along Pakistan-China border, sources told Dawn in Gilgit.
The issues which came under discussion at the meeting included illegal border crossing and smuggling, the sources said. Northern Areas Inspector-General of Police Sakhiullah Tareen headed the Pakistani side and Bai Venali, the chief officer of the Khunjerab Meeting Station, represented the Chinese team.
Tribal lashkar launches hunt for wanted men
April 18: A strong tribal force (lashkar) launched a hunt for al-Qaeda elements and their local supporters in South Waziristan Agency. The lashkar demolished the house of a tribal suspected of sheltering alleged terrorists in Azam Warsak and proceeded against wanted elements in two directions.
Sikh community to invest $1b in Pakistan
April 18: Pakistan will receive a hefty $1 billion foreign direct investment from the World Sikh community. This was announced by the sikh leaders, who had gathered from around the globe, to celebrate 500th birthday of the second Sikh guru — Guru Angad Dev. The function was held at Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, located just three kilometres from the Pakistan-India International border in Shakargarh tehsil of Narowal district. The village Kartarpur was founded by Baba Guru Nanik Dev, where he practised sikh religion for 17 years before he passed away. He announced the completion of sikh religion here.
SC extends detention of four in N-technology leak case
April 19: The Supreme Court of Pakistan has extended for three months the detention of four accused in the case of leaking Pakistan’s nuclear technology to other countries.Spokesman for Pakistani Army Major-General Shaukat Sultan Maj-Gen Shaukat Sultan named Khan’s four other former aides who will remain in custody as former director at the KRL Muhammad Farooq; former director-general at the KRL Dr Nazeer Ahmad; former army officers working at the lab Brig Sajawal Khan and Maj Islamul Haq.
NSC comes into being
April 19: President Pervez Musharraf put his signature of approval to the recently passed National Security Council (NSC) Bill, bringing into being the 13-seat NSC to be headed by him that gives the military a legal role in Pakistan's governance. A brief government announcement saying the president had given his assent to the bill - turning it into an act of parliament - came five days after the completion of a hurried parliamentary approval of controversial law. The president will be the chairman of the NSC with 12 other members being the prime minister, Senate chairman, National Assembly speaker, opposition leader in the National Assembly, chief ministers of the four provinces, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee chairman, and chiefs of staff of the army, the navy and the air force.
Asif allowed to defend himself in Swiss court
April 19: In a surprising move, the government allowed jailed PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari to proceed to Switzerland to defend himself in the SGS and Cotecna money-laundering case in a Swiss court, official sources told Dawn.However, Mr Zardari has refused to travel as a prisoner and sought time from the government to consult his lawyers, doctors and party leaders before making a final decision, his counsel Farooq H. Naek told newsmen at a hurriedly-called press conference in Islamabad.
US govt seems split over Pakistan
April 19: The Bush administration appears divided over Pakistan, with one group defending Islamabad as a close ally while the other attacking it as a hidden enemy. The US envoy in Kabul, Zalmay Khalilzad, appears to be the chief representative of the Pakistan-bashers in the US administration while the State Department often advocates the views of those who see Pakistan as a partner in the war against terror.
SC issues detailed verdict in APNS case
April 19: The Supreme Court has held that it is not the fundamental right of newspaper owners to manage their finances to run their businesses, which includes payment of wages to their employees. "If they have no finances, then their business is bound to collapse and merely non-availability of funds would not involve fundamental right of the petitioners." In its detailed order issued on a petition of the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) challenging the Seventh Wage Board Award and the Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) Act, 1973, which was dismissed for not being maintainable, the court observed that managing finances of a business was no fundamental right.
None of 163 Wana detainees freed: Sultan
April 19: Major General Shaukat Sultan, director general, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), has said that none of the 163 men arrested during the recent military operation in South Waziristan has been released. He told The News that the detained men were still being investigated for their possible links to al-Qaeda and the Taliban. He said the investigations would take some time and those found innocent would be freed.
Pakistan plans to ink counter terror deals with 22 states
April 19: Pakistan would sign separate agreements with 22 countries of East-South Asia minus India to counter rising threat of terrorism, The News said. Under these accords classified intelligence information would be shared by the parties. The proposed draft of terrorism agreement was tabled in the last federal cabinet meeting by the Ministry of Interior with the consultation of Foreign Office. India is not included in these countries as despite recent CBMs, New Delhi has not been placed by Islamabad in exclusive category of "friendly" countries. "Given the security perception and apprehension and level of distrust between the two hostile neighbors since partition in 1947, Pakistan could not afford at this stage to share any kind of classified information with India", sources claimed.